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(08:36:22) * Yanmei sat at the head of a conference table, shuffling around some documents and reluctantly eying sandwich-shaped parcel resting in front of her on a plate. She was in one of the meeting rooms on board the Gendo, and she clearly hadn't been alone until recently based on the state of the rest of the table. A tablet or stray leaflet was left here and there, and someone had draped a
(08:36:22) * Yanmei UEF jacket on the back of one of the chairs. For now, though, things were quiet.
(08:39:24) » Join: Tao (ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR#ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR) (clones with: Raphael)
(08:39:26) » Quit: Tao (ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR#ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR) (Client exited)
(08:39:47) » Join: Tao (~ua.moc.tensutpo.dlq.ap.802-311-791-94ap|oaT#ua.moc.tensutpo.dlq.ap.802-311-791-94ap|oaT)
(08:41:46) » Quit: Raphael (ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR#ua.ten.letxof.dlq.522-451-291-271-epc|leahpaR) (Ping timeout)
(08:48:09) * Sept arrived some time later, still in his borrowed uniform. He passed Yanmei a quick nod and a "Hey," pulled up a chair about halfway down the table, hovered behind it for a moment, exhaled deeply and sat down.-
(08:48:54) Sept: "Thanks for taking the time for this. I'm sure a lot of people need your attention right now."
(08:51:59) Yanmei: "Fewer than you'd think?" Yanmei gave a wry smile. "Our crews are so used to disasters that they already know what to do. They just need me to stamp the paperwork."
(08:58:05) Sept: "Ha. That's good. I hope they see this as a less desperate episode than Mars."
(08:59:13) » Join: Aline (~moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS#moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS)
(09:02:39) * Aline had actually arrived not too much later, wearing… just a white dress. Where she got it wasn't clear. Maybe it was still in her quarters on the Dorian and she just took it from there before coming back here. "…The Mars thing must've been hardcore."
(09:06:02) Yanmei: "Be thankful you missed it," Yanmei sighed. "We were in constant danger of starving and freezing to death? Not to mention the overcrowding, and the constant rescue and recovery missions in the wrecked parts of the ship…"
(09:06:47) Sept: "It was… heavy on a lot of people."
(09:10:33) Aline: "…yeah…" Aline distantly said. But still, you guys were gathering to… what, set stories straight?
(09:13:02) Sept: "Well. Yeah. To be blunt, I want to know what the hell happened back there," Sera said, turning to look at Yanmei.
(09:16:22) Yanmei: "Ugh. Of course." She frowned, deeply. "In simple terms, Albus got into my head and accidently set things up so that Excalibur was able to take control for a while. You saw what happened next."
(09:21:33) Sept: "There's a lot to unpack there. First of all, how'd he get into your head? Where was he getting enough power for that?"
(09:29:43) Yanmei: "Lilith? Ezekiel? Or whatever system he had them and Akagi hooked into? He did all sorts of junk that would have been impossible for a someone who wasn't an Angel. Reanimating fallen Eva corpses. Making the Dorian grow glowing tentacles. He got into my head because he was able to blindside me when I was fighting stuff like that off?"
(09:33:59) Sept: "Right, okay. Then you start chipping off bits of your soul. Was that Albus or was that your escape plan?"
(09:35:17) * Aline …started. "He uh. I'm pretty sure he was tapping Ezekiel's power, using weird voodoo from the Asterion that the virus guys taught him, and uh. Well that thing where he ate the Sigilite bomb."
(09:36:04) Sept: "So a lot of different things. Probably don't need to worry about all of those coinciding again?"
(09:36:45) Yanmei: "Well, we don't have to worry about the bomb anymore, at least," Yanmei muttered.
(09:38:01) Sept: "Soul fission, Yanmei. How did you come up with that?"
(09:39:20) Yanmei: "I didn't. It was Isaiah's plan. We had a chance to talk for just a few minutes."
(09:42:29) Sept: "He'd know all about that. Any chance Albus just set this up specifically to get you to do that?"
(09:44:10) * Aline shook her head. "…No. He might've come up with the plan as a plan B, but I /know/ his original plan was to unite Lilith and build a god-machine and all that. …I'm just lucky I was able to make that part fail."
(09:46:39) * Sept eyed her, then took a deep breath.-
(09:47:48) Sept: "Agreed. You did your job, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there at first. You'll find saving Tsubaki was worth it. I hope."
(09:49:26) » Join: Suzune (~moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS#moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS) (clones with: Aline)
(09:49:35) » Suzune is now known as Aline_
(09:49:55) Aline_: "…It seemed to be, yes. She was fine. I don't know what you did /exactly/ but it… worked."
(09:51:04) » Quit: Aline (~moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS#moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS) (Ping timeout)
(09:52:13) Sept: "We talked it out in the resort in the Alps. Took maybe half an hour."
(09:52:43) Aline_: "…So nobody was free of mindscapes today."
(09:53:20) Yanmei: "I guess not." Yanmei folded her arms.
(09:53:45) Sept: "Did something happen on the ship…?"
(09:55:49) Aline_: "Oh, no." Aline explained. "When he did his thing, I had a mindscape moment in the Drive."
(09:57:01) Sept: "Oh. That doesn't sound great."
(09:58:54) * Aline_ chuckled. "It was… weird. Imagine being in a psychic Louvre, but surrounded by people. Everywhere, everywhere. After some… stuff, I was able to act. I had a little help, actually. But… erm." She twiddled her fingers. "It ended up with me leading them into a chorus right to the breach Albus made, and with 00's help smashed the symbol of his bridge."
(10:00:59) Sept: "Huh. So you… used the souls still in the Drive to help you?"
(10:03:46) Aline_: "Yeah. …They were inert and sort of just crowding in, but I could hear a song in the distance from the bridge. …I just. I just ran with it, assuming I was the only active soul actually mentally accessing the Drive."
(10:05:41) Yanmei: "Don't suppose any of them slipped out alongside you? Even just by accident?"
(10:07:50) Aline_: "…No idea."
(10:08:20) Sept: "Could you… do it again?"
(10:10:27) * Aline_ just… stared. "…I'd need to be in the Drive with Mary out of commission. That's… not a very easy confluence to achieve. And no, I have NO idea if anyone slipped out while I was there. They may have even just leaked out on their own."
(10:14:22) Sept: "Yeah, don't worry about it. It's not a very likely outcome at all, but I appreciate knowing that's possible. Anyway, um." Sera squinted for a moment, rewinding the conversation.-
(10:16:08) Sept: "Right," he said, lightly slapping his hand down on the table. "Then you turned your Evangelion - housing a part of my soul - into a monster. That scared the hell out of me. Tell me about that part. Were you in control in any way?"
(10:16:09) * Aline_ nodded… and seemed to go quiet.
(10:16:57) » Quit: Aline_ (~moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS#moc.rr.ser.yabapmat.551cfh1322356|enuzuS) (Quit: Leaving)
(10:23:46) * Yanmei rolled her eyes. "My, how terrifying for you. The answer to that is yes. And no. Look. Let's talk about what happened after the soul fission thing." -
(10:35:25) Yanmei: "Immediately after, two things happen in my head. The Marionette showed up. That is… a smaller version of what 04 turned into. My mental manifestation of Excalibur's presence and some other stuff, I guess. We fight. I win. Then Albus shows up? We fight, I win again, thanks in part to Isaiah's plan. I'm still 100% in control at this point, right? Albus' plan was to grab control of
(10:35:26) Yanmei: Excalibur. He had nothing to do with the whole soul fission thing, was apparently surprised by it, and was pissed that I wasn't letting him have what he wanted. So he bails. But not without grabbing something of mine first. And it just so happens to be the part of my soul that holds Excalibur in check."
(10:41:04) * Sept said nothing for a few moments. "O…kay. So would you agree with us treating it like a berserk event?"
(10:43:22) Yanmei: "Um… it's… close enough? I guess?"
(10:44:44) * Sept nodded. "And finally - I think - how did you regain control? Do you think the Marionette voluntarily relented and it might happen again?"
(10:52:08) Yanmei: "I regained control when Albus died and my soul became whole again? So the Marionette didn't just give up. I doubt we have to worry about this happening again, though."
(10:56:12) Sept: "Oh right, shit. I guess that confirms Albus' death, too. Okay," Sera breathed again. "Neat as anything."-
(10:57:16) Sept: "And just so we're clear, I know you did everything you could and that you're good at your job and that this, in particular, must've been difficult. But."-
(10:58:47) Sept: "We were so close to just tying up everything on the Trinity Evas and filing that away in its own neat box, and now 04's got weird bone things!"
(11:02:49) Yanmei: "Oh. Yeah. 04's fine. The bone stuff is just decorative. Just think of it as permanent jewelry."
(11:08:17) Sept: Sera's frustration cracked somewhat, and he laughed. "Eva jewelry. Christ, how did he get here?"
(11:16:15) Yanmei: "Honestly, I'm surprised it's the first time this has happened. A crown of bones? That's intimidating. And kind of cool."
(11:17:43) Sept: "It's kind of cool," Sera admitted. "People might disagree. Seems easy to spin."
(11:25:10) Yanmei: "Oh, no need to spin it," said Yanmei smugly. "I'll bet everyone in technical is already buzzing over how it looks?"
(11:27:04) Sept: "Ugh."-
(11:27:08) Sept: "Okay, I think that's… everything new that's happened. Right?"
(11:28:12) Yanmei: "I think so."
(11:28:39) Yanmei: "Oh. Wait." She held up a hand. -
(11:28:53) Yanmei: "Have you visited Asuka? And Fontaine yet?"
(11:30:05) Sept: "Well. No. I left them a message." Sera fidgeted with his hands a little. "They'd want space."
(11:32:57) Yanmei: "Yeah. Things aren't looking good. They're looking at organ transplants and everything? Asuka's the only viable donor."
(11:34:40) Sept: "That's - very lucky. Do they think that'll work?"
(11:36:29) Yanmei: "It's a pretty good shot. But if they go through with it, she won't be capable of fighting for a while?"
(11:37:47) Sept: "Damnit. Maybe I should talk to her."
(11:40:47) * Yanmei nodded. "She's got a hard decision in front of her."
(11:43:54) Sept: "Yeah. She can make the right choice, though."
(11:48:06) Yanmei: "She will. She's taking her time on it - as she should - but she will."
(11:49:13) Sept: "Good. Good good good. They're very important to me. Hmmh. Thanks for the news?" Sera said, getting up from his chair.
(11:52:25) Yanmei: "Anytime? I'll see you two later. Heck, we'll probably meet up again like this pretty soon."
(11:54:05) Minaplo: [At that moment, Sera's comm crackled.]
(11:56:53) Sept: "Right, here we go again. I'll see you!" Sera quickly stepped out of the room and picked up his radio? "This is Sera."
(11:57:24) Minaplo: ["Hey, Sera? This is Maya. I… Don't know how to describe it, but I think your Eva's turned to glass?"]
(11:57:43) Sept: "…"-
(12:00:01) Sept: Sera immediately turned around, hurrying for the nearest stairwell towards the hangars.-
(12:00:44) Sept: "Listen to me, this is important. I'm on my way. Don't touch it, and whatever you do, don't tell Yanmei. Got it?"